Steven Pressfield – The Author Whose Advice You Need to Defeat Writing Resistance
Are Your Writing Dreams Being Sabotaged?
Every day, writers sit down at their desks, ready to create—and then find themselves scrolling through social media instead. Others stare at the blank page, paralyzed by self-doubt or fear. Other writers find themselves writing in circles, worrying about the opinions of others. If you’ve ever felt an invisible fore pushing against your creative work, you’re not alone. There is a name for this force and understanding it may be the key to reaching your writing dreams.
Who is Steven Pressfield?
If you aren’t familiar with Steven Pressfield, he is an author of historical fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays. His first book, The Legend of Bagger Vance, was published when he was 52 years old. Before that, he wrote for 17 years before earning any money from writing. He worked odd jobs to support himself while writing tirelessly. He detailed this experience in the The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. He has written and published numerous books, including several on writing that have become bestsellers.
Understanding Resistance
Pressfield is credited with creating the concept that there is a force that acts against human creativity. I would argue that this force shows itself anytime we try to make changes in our life. This force wants to keep things as they are. It makes taking the first step feel like trying to step out of quicksand. Pressfield has identified several ways that resistance stops us from pursuing creativity, including fear and anxiety, emphasizing distractions, and amplifying our inner critic.
Resistance in Real Life: My Perspective
As a book coach, I experience resistance firsthand. It pops up when I sit down to write one of these articles of when I begin crafting my editorial letter for a client. This resistance doesn’t mean that I don’t want to do these things or that they aren’t worth pursuits. This force simply wants us to stay stagnant.
What I’ve learned is that once I get going, I inevitably enter a flow state. The key is pushing through that initial resistance and getting started. Begin able to name this force, as Pressfield has done by naming it Resistance, and recognizing that it’s a common, normal experience helps me avoid stressing and worrying about the resistance I feel and to do the work of pushing past it.
The Daily Pressfield: Your Daily Dose of Creative Motivation
The Daily Pressfield is a lesson-a-day guide that helps you fight against inner resistance so that you can do the work of writing. Each day provides you with a brief selection from one of Pressfield’s books or articles and an explanation or expansion of the selection. Personally, I have found many pages of this book to be highly applicable and helpful with both writing and other parts of my life. It is pure and simple, damn good advice that will help you keep creating.
A Few Insights from Pressfield
The Challenge of Beginning
“People ask sometimes, ‘When is resistance strongest?’ The answer is easy. At the start.” – Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
This is one of the truest things ever said. We feel the most pull to do anything except the work at the beginning. This is true for starting to write a book, starting to work out, starting new habits, etc.
Action Over Reflection
“A screenwriter I admire once told me there are two phases to the writer’s work: action and reflection. In the trenches, what counts is action. Don’t think about it. Write it. We can always reflect later.” – Steven Pressfield,Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
I talk to so many writers that are stuck writing in circles because they are obsessing over every detail and doing nothing but reflecting. They remain trapped in their first draft, twisting themselves into a pretzel. It’s okay for your first draft to be messy. The important thing is that it gets written. There is plenty of time for editing and rewriting once you’ve read The End.
The Social Media Trap
“The amateur tweets. The pro works.” – Steven Pressfield, Turning Pro
Like all of us, I’ve been guilt of doom scrolling, losing time to my phone. Pressfield’s insight about this being self-inflicted really resonates with me. While it can be tough to hear, recognizing that this a choice that we inflict on ourselves is empowering—it means we have the power to change it. We can recognize when we’re avoiding necessary work. We can choose to be the pro instead of the amateur.
Pressfield’s Writing Advice and Connection to Shawn Coyne
The Daily Pressfield doesn’t just give valuable mindset advice, it also provides quick, helpful story tips on the hero’s journey, rising stakes, writing villains, character development and more. One such tip is, “The more agony you can put your protagonist through, the more the audience will love it.” Steven is business partners with Shawn Coyne, who founded The Story Grid, an editing method that Coyne developed. Coyne worked as an editor at the Big Five publishing houses, as an independent publisher, and as a literary agent both at a Hollywood talent agency and as the head of Genre Management Inc. His longest collaboration with a writer has been with Steven Pressfield, who convinced Coyne to write The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know. Not surprisingly, the advice in The Daily Pressfield often echoes the advice found in The Story Grid, which remains my number one most-referenced book when working on editing a client’s work.
Why Start with The Daily Pressfield?
With all the books on writing that Pressfield as written, why should you read The Daily Pressfield first? If you don’t have the time or desire right now to read one of his fully books, The Daily Pressfield will provide you with inspiration and tips in bite-sized pieces. Each page notes which of his books the selection comes from, so if you notice that you gravitate toward selections from a particular book, I recommend getting that book next. The Daily Pressfield is also a great way to get quick tips and inspiration without opening social media and risking the temptation of a doom scroll (I’m taking to myself here because I am so guilt of this).
Your Next Steps to Defeating Resistance
Ready to write through Resistance? Here are three ways to get started:
Start your daily practice: Get The Daily Pressfield and commit to reading one page each morning before you start writing. Use it as a ritual to signal to your brain that it’s time to create.
Get on the interest list for my accountability group: Don’t face resistance alone. This group runs for 12 weeks at a time with an option to renew or for new writers to join in January, April, July, And October. Quarter one is currently running but you can sign up now for the interest list for April. I will contact you in March to make sure you would still like to join.
Work with me to create personalized deadlines and get feedback as your write. Email me at samhenke@writeforwardcoaching.com for more info!
Remember, resistance is universal, but giving in to it is optional. Take the first step today.
References
Pressfield, Steven. The War of Art: Break through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Pressfield, Steven. The Daily Pressfield
Pressfield, Steven. Turning Pro
Pressfield, Steven. Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t
Coyne, Shawn. The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know